In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines in this dispute, stating that the majority of the shoals belonged to the Phil- ippines and that China had violated UNCLOS through its action against the Philippines in the region. [...] Internal security operations that were previously conducted by the Philippine Army and Philippine Navy will now be conducted by the Philippine National Police and Philippine Coast Guard, as the priority mission of the Armed Forces of the Philippines will be to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Philippines.10 Historically, the Philippine Army has been the nation’s pre-eminent. [...] The GDP of the Philippines, around $437 billion, is larger than that of Vietnam or Malaysia, and with 118 million people, it has one of the larger populations in the region.17 From the American perspective, the more capable the Philippines is at defending its own sovereignty, the better. [...] forces in the Philippines on a rotational basis and the expansion of integrated air and missile defenses, designed to not only protect the Philippines but to deny China the ability to control the skies and seas in and around the Philippines. [...] S.-led coali- tion could engage targets from the East China Sea to the Philippine Sea to the Taiwan Strait to the Strait of Malacca to the Chinese mainland.
Mentioned Organizations
- Pages
- 15
- Published in
- United States of America
